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The school store has free hygiene products, school supplies and new clothes for students.

    Students at the high school can now stop by the school store for clothes, hygiene and school supplies. All of the products are free and donated. 

    The store is located in the school lobby. It’s on the right end corner of the building when you go in from the front entrance. Students can visit any time during school hours. Principal Dana Paredes said donations are mostly from Walgreens and Westies Win, which is a Facebook group that has made sizable donations to the school. Some organizations do a one time donation and some other places give donations multiple times depending on the place. The school also posts on Facebook or other social media sites requesting donations. Westies Win will be helping the store by donating things monthly, Mrs. Paredes said. 

   Everything in the store is brand new. There are all different types of hygiene products including shampoos, conditioners, toothbrushes, toothpastes, soap and laundry detergent. There are also different types of school supplies including pencil cases, backpacks and water bottles. “Water bottles are a big seller this year,” Mrs. Paredes said. 

    All the clothes are brand new. Due to Covid-19 the school is not taking used clothes this year. Specific clothes are short-sleeve T-shirts with colorful designs, long tees, skirts, dresses and shorts. 

    A school attendance committee, made up of teachers, counselors, and administrators, has found that one thing that affects students’ attendance is not having the things they need to be ready for school. The school store is intended to address that problem. 

    “[Some students] feel like they don’t want to come to school because they’re not clean,” Mrs. Paredes said. “We wanted something to be free and accessible to students where kids wouldn’t have to miss school because they didn’t have something that’s a really basic need.”